15 Aug 2015
by scolgin
in Food, Humor, Recipes
Tags: carpaccio, Don Schneider, japan, Japanese cuisine, Nijiya Market, Nobu Matsuhisa, omakase, panna cotta, sushi, Wagyu
In Japan, “omakase” means “I’ll leave it to you,” or more precisely, “I trust you.” It’s a common phrase in fine sushi bars, when you put your meal in the hands of the chef and let him make you whatever he feels inspired to moment by moment.
“Kanpai!”
In Topanga, “omakase” means my pal Don Schneider shows up at my house at 10 a.m. to drop off seven or eight different seafoods for a sushi dinner that evening, before he and family leave for a month to Israel to visit an ailing mother. He trusts me. More
07 Aug 2015
by scolgin
in Eating Out, Humor, On the Road, Recipes
Tags: cheddar, food, humor, Middlebury, Otter Creek Bakery, poutine, Two Brothers Tavern, Vermont, Wolaver's
Though it would get bumped off the itinerary of our recent Northeast vacation due to logistic issues, we would have our chance to see Vermont after all, on the drive between the Adirondacks and Boston.
Vermont
Our pal Jon’s brother, Charlie — who went to college in Vermont and has a cabin there — gave us his recommendations for two different routes. The first was slightly more direct and passed through Middlebury, which was supposedly quaint and scenic; the second wound around a bit more and featured some nice waterfalls and a swimming hole. Both passed through the beautiful Green Mountains. Having gotten a late start from the Buck Summerhill Camp and it being well after lunch time when we crossed Lake Champlain into Vermont, we opted for the first. More
17 Jul 2015
by scolgin
in Humor, Observations, Starlets, Video
Tags: Adirondacks, Ben & Jerry's, Bethel, food, Great Lodges, humor, Middlebury, New England, Sagamore, Vermont
I’m always intrigued when I travel by the different names people in the different regions use for the same things. In Ireland, for example, they call gravel along the road “loose chippings”.
In the Northeast, we discovered that the bumpy line in the middle of the road is called a “rumblestrip”, what appears for all practical purposes to the Californian eye to be a lake is actually called a “pond,” and a small structure for camping is called a “lean to.”
Sagamore
All the large lakeside houses in the Adirondacks are called “camps”. We arrived at Big Wolf and followed the big directional sign pointing the way to the thirty or so camps on the lake. Pulling into the Buck Summerhill Camp, we were still puzzled. It looked to us a like a house.
“Why is it called a ‘camp’?” we asked. More
21 May 2015
by scolgin
in Humor, Starlets
Tags: 1980s, Don Schneider, food, Froggy's, Hell's Angels, humor, Texas-style brisket, The 1909, Topanga, Topanga Elementary Charter School
Last year around this time, I was asked to cook at the silent auction fundraiser for my kids’ elementary school. The event, a 1970s-themed soiree at a local venue, the 1909, was a huge success and the food — including pizzas and huge paleolithic ribeye steaks emerging from a wood-fired oven — was the star.
So when it came around time for the 2015 fundraiser — with an 80s theme — I was again asked. Again, I accepted.
Don Schneider as Hef, plating cod and cous cous
The party would take place this year at Froggy’s, a local restaurant that had been shuttered and put up for sale — which I briefly considered buying before regaining my common sense — and then, upon failing to find a buyer, reopened. More
08 May 2015
by scolgin
in Humor, Pork, Starlets
Tags: bak kwa, Chinese New Year, food, humor, Lim Chee Guan, Pork, Shoba Haridass, Singapore
My kid’s call her “Aunt Shoba.” And she’s got a secret.
Our dear friend Shoba, you see, comes from Singapore, where she was recently visiting her parents. We fed her family while she was gone — including a birthday dinner for husband Bob. As a gesture of love and thanks, she brought me something back, a regal red bag with gold Chinese characters embossed on the front, a package weighing around a pound inside, that she slipped to me stealthily with a suggestion: “Hide that.”
Shoba’s back
“What is it?” I whispered back.
“Meat,” she said.
It was called “bak kwa,” from the Lim Chee Guan company. She then sent me a link explaining. More
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